Past, Present, and Future
Rockets: Past, Present, and Future Robert Goddard With his Original Rocket system Delta IV … biggest commercial Rocket system currently in US arsenal Material from Rockets into Space by Frank H. Winter, ISBN 0-674-77660-7 MAE 5540 - Propulsion Systems Earliest Rockets as weapons • Chinese development, Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1279) – Primarily psychological • William Congreve, England, 1804 – thus “the rockets red glare” during the war of 1812. – 1.5 mile range, very poor accuracy. • V2 in WWII MAE 5540 - Propulsion Systems First Principle of Rocket Flight • “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Isaac Newton, 1687, following Archytas of Tarentum, 360 BC, and Hero of Alexandria, circa 50 AD. • “Rockets move because the flame pushes against the surrounding air.” Edme Mariotte, 1717 • Which one is correct? MAE 5540 - Propulsion Systems Isaac Newton explains how to launch a Satellite MAE 5540 - Propulsion Systems The Reaction-propelled Spaceship of Hermann Ganswindt (1890) • The fuel for his spaceship consisted of heavy steel cartridges with dynamite charges. They were to be fed machine gun style into a reaction chamber where they would fire and be dropped away. • “Shock absorbers protected the travelers” MAE 5540 - Propulsion Systems The Three Amigos of Spaceflight Theory • Konstantin Tsiolkovsky • Hermann Oberth • Robert Goddard • Independent and parallel development of Rocket theory MAE 5540 - Propulsion Systems Three Amigos • Goddard • Oberth • Tsiolkovsky MAE 5540 - Propulsion Systems Konstantin Tsiolkovsky 1857 - 1935 • Deaf Russian School Teacher - fascinated with space flight, started by writing Science Fiction Novels • Discovered that practical space flight depended on liquid fuel rockets in the 1890’s, and developed the fundamental Rocket equation in 1897.
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